A Bow To The Heart
by aconites
Summary: Annabelle Swanson never had an easy life. After her parent's death, the eight year old girl had ended up as an orphan, living in different foster homes for the rest of her adolescent years. Trusting people was almost non-existent, but now that the zombie apocalypse had overruled the earth, she found herself getting close to a group of survivors. Daryl/OC. Rated M for later chapters


Daryl Dixon had never been one to gawk, especially not over a woman. Although, today was a different story. Annabelle Swanson had been in their camp for exactly fifty-nine days. At first, Daryl had never really taken the time to get to know her; hell, he never really spoke to anyone new in camp, but now with his brother dead and Carol being occupied with taking care of Judith, he actually felt… Lonely. Not that he would ever admit to it, even acknowledging it was stupid in his opinion. Dixons didn't care about making friends and all that bullshit, they only cared about surviving. Yet, deep down, he knew it wasn't completely true; looking for Carol's daughter- Sophia- had changed him. It also changed the way the group looked at him, from a dumbass redneck to some kind of hero. It didn't bother him until he realized how he felt about these idiots, when they lost T-dog and almost Carol, he realized he actually cared a lot.

After the governor had tried to attack the prison, Rick had let the people of Woodbury inside their camp. Daryl wasn't exactly keen on the idea, but once he knew why it was so important for Rick to do it, to save someone when he couldn't save Lori, he willingly agreed. And that's when Annabelle came in. The twenty-five year old, thin, blonde woman had come in with the rest of the group, keeping to herself. The first thing he noticed about her was how slim she was. Slimmer than most women he had seen since the apocalypse started. She had on a white tank top that was ripped from her shoulder to her back. A pair of pink short that was covered in blood and her hair was in a messy ponytail on top of her head, evident that she hadn't brushed her blonde strands in a long time.

The group had later found out by Sasha that she was actually held captive in one of the cells Andrea was in before her death. Apparently she wasn't a fan of how the governor was running the town, and as soon as he found out about the way she thought about him, he threw her in there with little food or water. This explained how sickly thin she looked. Maggie and Michonne had befriended her in a matter of days, which was a lot quicker than either of them would have thought it would take. The farmer's daughter had told her about what had happened with the governor, thinking it would help her open up about the things he did, if any, to her as well. As for Michonne, she explained the situation that happened with Andrea. Annabelle had been very sympathetic towards the both of them, even shedding a few tears for their friend they had lost. They listened when she told about her story as well.

The young woman was born in Chicago before her parents decided to move to Texas. Her father was a contractor while her mother owned a company that sold different types of clothing. They had gotten a divorce when she was seven, and the reason was a lot more complicated than she would have thought. Her mother had been ill, very ill, and she didn't want her husband to feel like he had to go through that with her. He was a strong man on the outside, but losing his parents when he was just a child, had proven difficult to start a relationship with anyone; scared that he would lost them like he lost his parents. So her mother lied, she told him she was having an affair and he left. Of course, being seven years old, she had no idea what was going on and simply assumed that her father didn't love them anymore.

After a year of intense chemo therapy and dying peacefully in her home, Annabelle's mother left behind an eight year old daughter all alone. Her father, who was shocked to find out the truth about his ex-wife, went into a deep depression; committing suicide a few months after his beloved died. Annabelle found herself becoming an orphan, moving to a foster home, where kids teased her about the way that she looked. Being eight years old and taller than most of the older kids there wasn't normal, and Annabelle received a nickname that stuck until she moved out after graduating high school; Big bird. Luckily she didn't grow more after that.

The beginning of her adulthood had been tough. She had no money, no school experience—other than a high school diploma—and no one was interested in hiring her. That was until she met a man, a man of the name Heath at a bar in the middle of Dallas. He was sweet; he asked her about her past, her dreams and what she wanted out of life. Annabelle, who was new to a man taking interest in getting to know her, fell for him instantly. What a stupid thing to do.

They started dating, she met his parents, his friends and the rest of his family; they even bought a small house together. Annabelle had also managed to get a job at a café nearby. Everything seemed to be going great, until she found out what kind of man he really was. It started out small, yelling at her for stupid things, such as leaving a dirty dish on the counter when it should have been in the sink, forgetting to pick up milk at the story… Then it escalated—it began to get physical. Annabelle had always stuck her ground when she was growing up; she had to considering where she was raised, so when he first laid his hands on her, she didn't stick around. Leaving him and moving out of their new home, she decided that Texas had no longer anything to offer. Which is why she decided to move to good Old Georgia.

Once she moved there, it was like everything changed. Her apartment was in the quietest place in Atlanta, and her neighbours were two old ladies who fell in love when both their husbands had died a year apart. Annabelle thought it was adorable, she always had a soft spot for the elderly, and the sight of the two of them made her smile.

About fifteen minutes from her new place, a small bar named Ruby's had given her a call after she had dropped off her resume a few days prior. Annabelle had little money left from working at the café, and she knew a new hob was what she needed to pay rent. As soon as she came in for her interview, the owner looked at her, asked if she had any experience as a waitress—which she replied yes—and hired her on the sport. Having long legs and a pretty face had its advantages, the other waitress had said.

At twenty-three years old and being one of the most demanded waitresses at Ruby's, Annabelle could finally feel her life going somewhere. Sure, it wasn't exactly her dream job, but she was starting to get paid more; getting better tips and even getting promoted to assistant manager. People respected her—other than a few drunks who couldn't keep their hands to themselves sometimes—and she was happy. After everything that happened with Heath, the Chicago born didn't think she would date again, especially not a year later, but life had other plans in store for her.

His name was Wesley; he was the son of the town's mayor. The first time she had seen him, she thought what everyone else did, just another spoiled rich kid. However, it wasn't exactly true. It was on a quiet Sunday afternoon when he came into the bar, sitting at his usual place. Annabelle had just finished mopping the floors when she noticed him. Placing the mop against the wall, she wiped her damp hands on her apron and walked over to him. "Hello," he looked up, seeming to be stuck in thought. "Oh hello," he smiled, showing his pearly whites. She had to remember how to talk, struck by how handsome he was. Clearing her throat, she pulled out her small notepad from her pocket along with a pencil from behind her ear. "What can I get you?" And that's how the cycle started.

Every Monday and Friday around lunch time, he would come in, sit in her booth and order a cheese burger and a large fry. After he was done, he would pay and ask her the same question. "So, what are you doing this weekend?" Each time, Annabelle would reply nothing, hoping he would ask her out but he never did. This went on for a few more weeks, and by the eight one, she had had enough, "So, are you ever going to ask me out?" She almost laughed at his shocked face, clearly not expecting that, but he smile, that gorgeous smile that she loved and nodded. "I've been getting to that. Took me longer that I thought, I suppose."

They set up a time and place to meet. He offered to pick her up but she refused, not trusting him fully quite yet. The restaurant that he picked was about a ten minute walk from her apartment, so it wasn't very long. This was good, considering she would be running home later that evening.

* * *

PRESENT TIME

Walking out of the prison, Annabelle had to shield her eyes from the sun. The darkness from inside the prison had her eyes sting from the sudden brightness. Hershel had asked her last night to water some of the vegetables in their small garden, which was in front of the prison. She obviously agreed, gardening was something she loved to do back home… back when life was normal, when people didn't try to eat one another.

So after a quick shower and changing into some of the clothes Maggie had lent her a few weeks ago, the blonde walked towards the garden with a bucket of water in hand. Crouching down on her knees in front of the growing vegetables, she slowly began to pour water on the dry dirt.

As she followed the same process to the other side, she stood up and wiped her dirty hands on her freshly cleaned shorts. Whoops, sorry Carol. She thought. Just as she was about to walk back into the prison, she felt as if someone was watching her. Frowning, Annabelle turned around and looked for the source it was coming from. Nothing or no one was there. Shrugging, she grabbed her now empty bucket and walked slowly back to the prison, her guard up as if someone was going to pop up and attack her. Reaching the metal door, she was about to pull it open when her eye caught a figure inside one of the guard towers, starring at her.

Daryl Dixon was one of the few people that couldn't help but scare her. It wasn't his fault, nor did he ever do anything to scare her in the first place, but he reminded her of Heath. She had first seen him her first day here, he had his crossbow hanging on his back, watching her and the rest of the group closely. Showing them that he wasn't up for any bullshit. He usually stayed in his corner or by Rick's side. And sometimes he would talk to Carol. Annabelle swore that she saw him smile once, when he was holding Judith. Other than that, he kept to himself and showed almost no emotion.

He reminded Annabelle of some of them boys she grew up with, broken and lost who pretended to be strong. However, Daryl seemed different, he was strong, no pretending necessary. She thought he was cute too, in a rugged, manly way. Yet, she never got the courage to speak or approach him. Now, as they starred at each other, she made a brave move and lifted her hand, giving him a small wave. He seemed surprised, but shook his head and turned around, returning to his watch. Well, that went great. Without another glance, she slipped inside the prison and slammed the door behind her.

* * *

Well, that's it for chapter one! If you want me to make a second chapter, please review and tell me what you think! Thanks for reading.

Stephanie


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